Independent bottler Coca-Cola Beverages Florida, LLC (Coke Florida) has completed a major logistics expansion in Central Florida, celebrating the grand opening of its new $84 million distribution centre in Orlando.
The facility represents a significant capital investment in one of the state's fastest-growing regions. By integrating advanced automated warehouse technology, the company intends to enhance order accuracy, streamline storage efficiency, and improve delivery reliability for its regional retail, hospitality, and foodservice partners.
The expansion aligns with the company's long-term infrastructure strategy to build scalable logistics capacity that supports the high-volume distribution demands of the Florida beverage market.
Logistics Capacity and Regional Infrastructure
The new Orlando facility establishes a highly automated logistics hub designed to support rapid product throughput and deep regional market coverage.
The core operational metrics of the distribution centre include:
🏢 Facility Footprint – Spanning 180,000 square feet on a five-acre site.
🚢 Dock Capacity – Equipped with 29 inbound and outbound docks to accelerate fleet turnaround.
📦 Volume Throughput – Engineered to process and distribute approximately 34 million cases of beverages annually.
🗺️ Regional Coverage – Supplying customers across 15 Florida counties, including Orlando, Ocala, Daytona, Brevard, and Fort Pierce.
To support this expanded regional footprint, Coke Florida employs nearly 1,000 associates in Central Florida across sales, manufacturing, distribution, and professional services. The scale of the new site provides the workforce with the physical infrastructure required to manage high seasonal volume fluctuations while maintaining delivery timelines.
Automation and Warehouse Efficiency
A central component of the $84 million facility is the integration of automated warehouse systems. By transitioning away from completely manual stock-handling and picking methods, the company intends to reduce operational bottlenecks and lower transaction errors.
The automated system coordinates inventory placement, picking pathways, and pallet assembly, helping to standardise back-of-house warehouse workflows.
According to Troy Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Coke Florida, the capital investment is focused on establishing the right infrastructure and capabilities to support sustainable regional growth.
Derek Frederickson, Region General Manager for Central Florida, added that the facility provides the technical scale and modern environment necessary to sustain commercial momentum and deliver reliable service to regional accounts.
Corporate Scale and Florida Operations
The launch of the Orlando distribution centre reinforces Coke Florida's position as a major player in the US beverage distribution and bottling sector.
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Tampa, the family-owned firm operates as a strategic bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company. The business has grown to become one of the largest Coca-Cola bottlers in the United States, managing an exclusive distribution territory that covers 47 counties across the state.
The company's commercial operations include:
Production Facilities – Four GreenCircle Certified manufacturing plants focused on sustainable beverage production.
Distribution Network – 18 regional distribution centres managing local retail and hospitality accounts.
Workforce Scale – Employing over 5,000 associates across its manufacturing and distribution networks.
As one of the largest Black-owned businesses in the United States, the distributor continues to leverage its supply chain infrastructure to drive economic development and local employment across its territories, supporting both regional retail partners and community education programs.
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